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Crisis and full disclosure

Gov. Patrick, you can put that pulpit away. No need for any more of those soul-searching sermons. Those refugee children won't be coming.

Federal officials indicated Tuesday that Massachusetts won't be receiving any of those thousands of youngsters who have fled Central America to seek asylum in the U.S.

According to authorities, the situation at our southern border has stabilized, because the refugee flow has decreased over the the last few weeks. There's even talk of closing some of the camps set up right along the border.

It's amazing how quickly that situation has changed. Which is good news for those communities near the two military installations -- Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee and Camp Edwards in Bourne -- that the governor had designated to accommodate up to 1,000 of those undocumented asylum seekers.

As you remember, a tearful Patrick, quoting the Bible, implored the residents of the commonwealth that it was our Christian duty to accept these children.

Channeling President Abraham Lincoln, he encouraged us to be touched by the angels of our better nature and roll out the welcome mat. The implication being that if you were opposed to this government request, you were somehow heartless -- or something worse.

Unfortunately, the governor apparently never bothered to elicit feedback from anyone in the state Legislature or the communities that potentially would be directly impacted before making his public plea.

Some have wondered if any government functions have suffered since Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray resigned just over a year ago.

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For that matter, even the relevance of that position has been the subject of debate. But in this situation and a few others, we can see where the counsel of a trusted lieutenant would have served Patrick well.

Though the federal government made assurances that it would pick up the cost of housing these children, nearby communities had legitimate concerns about the long-term consequences.

Coming on the heels of the disclosure that the government had been secretly shuttling illegal immigrants in and out of Hanscom Air Base and Logan Airport, the public's skepticism in this case was certainly justified.

The governor has left the door open in case there's a future need to disperse these young refugees around the country.

We suggest that if a similar situation arises, the governor sit down with legislative leaders and officials of potentially impacted communities.

From that, a mechanism should be established that would lead to a consensus and full government disclosure before deciding to accept or reject a sizable refugee population.

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